Last week, the iShares Flexible Income Active ETF (BINC) reached a significant milestone and became the latest member of the $10 billion of the active fixed income club. The exclusive club now has six members, fewer than half the number of active equity ETF members. However, BINC stands out from other popular active fixed income ETFs.
Rise of Active Fixed Income ETFs
Actively managed ETFs have swelled in popularity in 2025. Industrywide, more than $200 billion flowed in during the first half of 2025, equal to 37% of the net inflows.
The JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) is the largest active fixed income ETF, with $32 billion. The fund takes on limited interest rate risk with an average duration of 0.75 years. Yet JPST still sports a 4.3% 30-day SEC yield by owning investment-grade corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, and commercial paper.
Demand for actively managed ultra-short fixed income ETFs has been robust as investors seek relative safety combined with professional expertise. Other popular ETFs in this space are the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT) and the PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF (PULS). MINT and PULS have $13 billion and $12 billion in assets, respectively.
A fourth member of the $10 billion active ETF club has also benefited from demand for high quality, less rate- sensitive bond exposure. The Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA) has $22 billion in assets, aided by $5.5 billion of net inflows thus far in 2025. While CLOs have a floating rate structure that makes it largely immune to rate movements, JAAA sports a 5.3% yield.
FBND: Actively Sitting at the Core
JAAA and the three sector-diversified ultra-short fixed income active ETFs provide targeted exposure for conservative investors. However, we think the portfolio use cases are different from the ones for BINC and the Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND). FBND manages just under $20 billion, aided by $2.2 billion since the start of 2025. Fidelity has been building out its active ETF lineup, but FBND has sat at the core for many client portfolios for more than a decade.
